Ironing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A head is pivotally interconnected with a buck and is normally biased into a raised open position. Locking means is provided for locking the head in a lowered ironing position. The buck has a substantially universal mounting, and drive means is provided for moving it toward and away from the head. A lost motion connection is provided between the drive means and buck and is interconnected with a control means for deactivating the drive means when a predetermined pressure is applied to the material being ironed independent of the thickness of such material.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Wolfgang llentschel Munich; Hermann Stutzle, Gilchlng, both of, Germany [21] Appl. No. 821,340 [22] Filed May 2, 1969 [45] Patented July 6, 1971 [73] Assignee Dormler G.m.b.l'l.

F riedrichshafen. Bodensee, Germany [54] IRONING APPARATUS 5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

[52] 11.8. C1 38/28, 38/43 [511 1nt.C1 ..D06i71/00, D06f 71/28 [50] Field 01 Search 38/17, 26, 28,41,15,16,2543

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,463,397 7/1923 Lavier 38/28 1,930,349 10/1933 Pendleton 38/41 2,212,188 8/1940 Walter 38/28 3,130,508 4/1964 Go1dstein.. 38/17 3,406,472 10/1968 Solomon 38/17 1,647,501 11/1927 Braun 38/33 2,123,368 7/1938 Loweke et a1. 38/25 Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant ExaminerGeorge V. Larkin Attorney-James E. Bryan 5a 2 56 I 42 52 so 44 W4 4 24 g; I o

I t i J i204 34 38 o] m; 22 202 I82 PATENTED JUL 6197i SHEET 1 BF 3.590.502

WOLFGANG HENTSCHEL a HERMANN STUTZLE ATTOR EYS PATENTEUJUL SIB?! 3590.502

sum 2 (1F 2 N HERMAN STUTZLE BY WK w/ W ATTORNEYS IRONING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to ironing apparatus, and more particularly to an ironing apparatus of the portable table model type The ironing apparatus of the present invention is directed to a relatively lightweight ironing apparatus which can be readily mounted upon a table or other suitable supporting surface. Ironing apparatus of this type in the prior art includes head and buck means, one of these means being movable and operated by a toggle linkage so as to apply the necessary pressure to material being ironed.

Conventional ironing apparatus of the above type has several significant disadvantages. In the first place, a relatively large amount of force must be applied by an operator in order to actuate the toggle linkage. The large force necessary in this type of construction causes the apparatus to be unstable, particularly in view of the fact that ironing apparatus of this type is of a lightweight construction.

Additionally, known apparatus of this type incorporates a toggle linkage having an actuating lever which projects a considerable distance beyond the outer contours of the device itself. Accordingly, such apparatus is unwieldly and bulky and requires a considerable amount of space.

A further disadvantage of conventional portable ironing apparatus lies in the fact that it is difficult to adjust the apparatus to properly function when ironing material of different thicknesses. This is a particular problem when a piece of laundry in a single ironing operation is adapted to be folded several times. In order to obtain the desired adjustment, a rather complex arrangement is provided which substantially increases the weight of the apparatus. Furthermore, such adjustrnent of the apparatus is a complicated and time-consuming operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, a head is pivotally interconnected with a buck and is normally biased into a raised open position. Locking means is provided for locking the head in its lowered ironing position. The buck has a substantially universal mounting and is driven by power operated drive means which moves the buck toward and away from the head as desired.

A lost motion connection is provided between the drive means and the buck and is operatively associated with a con- ,trol means for deactivating the drive means when a predetermined pressure is applied to the material being ironed. This control means operates independently of the thickness of the material being ironed to thereby enable the pressure applied to the ironed material to be accurately controlled. The lost motion connection automatically adjust the control means for varying thicknesses of material being ironed. A selectively operable infinitely variable presetting device is provided for enabling any desired degree of applied pressure to be obtained during operation of the apparatus.

The power operated drive means eliminates the necessity for an operator to apply any substantial amount of force to the apparatus, and the construction remains extremely stable in use.

The present invention is of a very lightweight construction and is compact so as to occupy a minimum amount of space. The operating mechanism is contained solely within the contours of the apparatus, and there is no necessity for providing operating levers or the like extending outwardly of the apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an end elevation, partly broken away, illustrating an ironing apparatus according to the present invention, and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction ofthe arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the views, a head means is indicated generally by reference numeral l0, and a buck means is indicated generally by reference numeral 12. The head and buck carry smooth arcuate complementary ironing surfaces 14 and 16, respectively, adapted to receive the material to be ironed therebetween in the usual manner.

A suitable heating means 18 in the form of an electrical resistance element is carried by the head, and is connected with a suitable source of electrical energy. A conventional selector knob 19 is operatively connected with a thermostat 20 whereby the temperature of the head is accurately controlled.

A handle 21 is provided adjacent the forward end of the head to facilitate manipulation of the apparatus. The head is carried by a support bracket 22 including a pair of spaced depending portions 23 and 24.

The buck means is carried by a base portion 30, this base portion 30 including a pair of walls 32, one of which is seen in FIG. 2, it being understood that the apparatus is substantially symmetrical about the centerline thereof. Walls 32 have suitable holes provided therein for rotatably journaling a tubular shaft 34 the opposite ends of which are fixed to the depending portions 23 and 24 of support bracket 22. In this manner, the support bracket and the head carried thereby are pivotally interconnected with the base portion; which carries the buck means.

A pair of arms 38 are fixedly secured to shaft 34 for rotation therewith, the outer ends of these arms each being connected with the lower end of a tension spring 40, the upper end of which is connected with a locking member or rod 42 extending between a pair of spaced walls 44 provided on the base portion 30. It is apparent that springs 40 normally bias arms 38 and tubular shaft 34 interconnected. therewith in a counterclockwise direction to thereby move the clamping bracket 22 and the head supported thereby in a counterclockwise direction so as to move the head away from the buck and to open the apparatus.

Locking means is provided for locking the head in a lowered ironing position. This locking means includes a pair of levers 50 each of which is supported for pivotal movement about a pin 52 mounted in a wall 54 of the support bracket 22. A prestressed tension spring 56 is interconnected between each of these levers and a portion of the clamping bracket for normally biasing each of the levers in a counterclockwise direction into the locking position illustrated in FIG. 2 wherein the outer end of an arm 58 formed on the lever engages the adjacent wall of the support bracket.

Each of the levers includes a hook-shaped end portion 60 defining a recess 62 adapted to receive the locking member 42 previously described. The one end of each of the levers is provided with a sloping cam surface 64 adapted to engage locking member 42 as the clamping bracket and upper pressure member are swung downwardly into the lowered position illustrated whereby the levers will be automatically cammed in a clockwise direction as the levers engage locking member 42 until the levers snap into the illustrated locked position.

Means is provided for remotely controlling the release of the locking means in the form of electrically operated solenoid 70 the plunger 72 of which is operatively connected with an arm 74 extending from each of levers 50. This solenoid 70 is connected with a suitable source of electrical energy through a switch means 76 mounted on the head and readily accessible from the front of the apparatus.

The buck 12 is supported by a plurality of compression springs 80 disposed at points symmetrically spaced from the center of the buck and supported within the suitable pockets 82 provided in the base portion 30. Springs 80 maintain the buck in a su stantially horizontal position during use of the apparatus. T e buck includes a depending protective skirt 84 which is disposed in surrounding relationship to the upstanding part 86 of the base portion to protect the components disposed within the base portion as the buck moves upwardly and downwardly with respect thereto As seen most clearly in FIG 1, the power operated drive means of the present invention includes an electrical drive motor 90 connected with a suitable source of electrical energy and including an output shaft drivingly connected with a V- belt pulley 92. A V-belt 94 is trained over V-belt pulley 92 and a V-belt pulley 96. Pulley 96 is, in turn, interconnected for rotation with a worm 98, this worm meshing with a worm gear 100.

As seen most clearly in H6. 2, worm gear 100 is disposed within a housing 110 supported by the base portion, the worm gear being supported in an axial direction by a thrust bearing 112. The worm gear has a threaded bore extending longitudinally therethrough, and a spindle 116 has an intermediate threaded-portion 118 which is threaded within the threaded bore provided through the worm gear. The lower end of spin- -dle 116 is provided with splines which engage a correspondingly splined plate 120 secured to housing 110 by screws 122. ln this manner, spindle 116 is adapted to move axially in a vertical direction as seen in FIG. 2 upon relative rotation of the worm gear with respect to the spindle.

The upper portion of the spindle is of reduced dimension, and an annular shoulder 130 is provided between the portions of greater and lesser dimension on the spindle. A first bracket 132 is supported on shoulder 130, and a second bracket 134 is disposed in spaced generally parallel relationship with bracket 132. These two brackets have hola extending therethrough through which the reduced portion of the spindle is movable. A plurality of cup springs 136 are positioned in surrounding relationship to the reduced portion of the spindle and are disposed between brackets 132 and 134.

A spherical bearing M is supported on the upper surface of bracket 134, and the reduced portion of the spindle extends freely through a central bore provided through this spherical bearing. The buck includes a complementary spherical socket portion 142 whereby the buck is mounted for substantially universal movement with respect to the drive means operatively associated therewith.

The reduced upper portion of the spindle extends freely through an enlarged hole 146 provided in the buck, and the uppermost end of the spindle is threaded for receiving a nut 150 thereon. This nut engages a washer 152 which bears against a surface 154 formed on the buck. By tightening the out 150, a predetermined amount of prestress may be applied to the set of cup springs 136.

An ear 160 is connected to bracket 134, and a lever 162 is pivotally connected with ear 160 by a pin 164 whereby lever 162 is mounted for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin. A projection 166 extends from bracket 132 and is engageable with lever 162. A spring 168 is connected between lever 162 and housing 110 and maintains the lever continuously in engagement with the projection.

An electrical control switch 170 includes a switch portion 172 engageable by a surface 174 carried at the outer end of lever 162. Control switch 170 is mounted on an adjusting rod 180 which is supported by a part 182 of the base portion. An intermediate annular shoulder 184 is formed on the adjusting rod, and a compression spring 186 is positioned in surrounding relationship to the rod between said shoulder and a wall of the base portion whereby the adjusting rod is normally biased to the left as seen in FIG. 2. An adjusting knob 190 is suitably connected with the outer end of rod 180 to permit the rod to be selectively moved inwardly or outwardly to adjust the position of electrical switch 170 and thereby provide substantially infinitely variable setting of the switch. The switch is suitably interconnected with the drive motor 90 previously described such that when the switch is closed, the drive motor will be deactivated.

A surface 200 is also carried by the outer end of lever 162, this surface being adapted to engage the contact 202 of a limit switch 204. This limit switch is also suitably interconnected with the drive motor such that upon closing up of the limit switch, the drive motor is deactivated.

As seen in FIG. 1, a control switch 210 is provided for initially energizing the drive motor to drive it in a forward direction to move the buck upwardly toward the head. A second switch 212 is provided for energizing the drive motor in a reverse direction to move the buck downwardly away from the head. A glow lamp 214 is provided for indicating that the thermostat 20 previously described is accurately controlling the temperature of the heating element carried by the head.

Operation When it is desired to place material to be ironed within the apparatus of the present invention, switch 76 is actuated so as to remotely operate solenoid 70 and release the locking means. The solenoid locking levers 50 in a clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2 thereby releasing the locking levers from locking member 42. The springs 40 then bias the support bracket 22 and the head carried thereby in a counterclockwise direction to open the apparatus.

The material to be ironed is then placed on the ironing surface 16 of the buck, whereupon handle 21 is manually grasped and the head is swung downwardly into the operative position illustrated in the drawings. As the head is lowered into operative ironing position, locking levers 50 again automatically engage locking member 42 to lock the head in its lowered operative position.

Switch 210 is then operated to energize the drive motor which causes the buck to be urged upwardly toward the head. The drive motor through the V-belt connection causes rotation of worm gear which, in turn, through the threaded interconnection with spindle 1 16 causes the spindle to move upwardly. The upward thrust is transmitted from shoulder of the spindle to lower bracket 132, thence through cup-shaped springs 136 to the upper bracket 134, which is freely movable with respect to the lower bracket 132. The upper bracket, in turn, acts upon spherical bearing which engages socket member 142 to urge the lower pressure means upwardly.

it will be noted that the pair of brackets 132 and 134 and the interposed cup springs 136 provide a lost motion connection. Accordingly, when the buck comes into contact with the material to be ironed or comes into contact with the head, the two brackets 132 and 134 will be displaced relative to one another against the force of the cup springs 136. As this relative movement occurs, projection 166 in engagement with lever 162 will start to swing the lever 162 in a counterclockwise direction. After a predetermined amount of movement, surface 174 on lever 162 closes switch to deenergize the drive motor.

Regarding the lost motion connection, there is always a connection between the spindle 116 and the buck 12 by way of the set of springs 136 and, with the decreasing distance between the two brackets 132 and 134 from the shoulder of the spindle 116, an increasing pressing action takes place which presses the buck 12 against the head 10 which is set or locked in the horizontal position. During the pressing operation, the two brackets 132 and 134 execute a relative movement with respect to each other, which movement is used for actuating the switch 170. With respect to the movement of the two brackets 132 and 134 as described, it is quite appropriate to refer to a lost motion connection. This term is applicable also to the control switch which is actuated by way of the lever 162 only after a predetermined lost motion path of the bracket 132 and of the switch portion 172.

Adjusting knob enables the position of switch 170 to be accurately adjusted so that the drive motor will be deenergized upon a predetermined amount of relative movement of the two bracket members and concomitant swinging movement oflever 162.

In this manner, the amount of pressure applied by the pressure means of the apparatus to the material being ironed may be accurately adjusted.

The spherical bearing means and the associated spherical socket in the buck means enables buck means to be adjusted in a substantially universal manner in accordance with the ironing material inserted between head and buck. The position of the buck is thereby adapted to accommodate any variations in thickness of the material being ironed.

When the ironing operation is completed, switch 212 is actuated to reverse the polarity of the drive motor 90 to drive it in an opposite direction thereby moving the buck downwardly away from the head. As the buck moves downwardly, brackets 132 and 134 will again assume their initial relative position with respect to one another, and lever 162 will also resume its initial angular relationship with respect to the brackets.

As the buck moves downwardly, surface 200 carried by the outer end of the lever engages contact 202 of limit switch 204 to again deenergize the drive motor. Switch 76 can then again be operated to remotely release the locking means whereby the head will swing upwardly under the influence of the biasing springs to open the apparatus so that the ironed material can be removed therefrom.

When an ironing operation is completed, the heating means can be disconnected from an associated source of electrical energy by suitable operation of selector knob 19.

it is apparent that the lost motion connection provided between the drive means and the buck enables the apparatus to control the pressure applied to the material being ironed'irrespective of the thickness of the material, and in addition, the amount of pressure applied can be infinitely varied by suitable adjustment of the associated adjusting knob.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

We claim:

1. Ironing apparatus including head means, buck means cooperating with said head means for receiving material to be ironed therebetween, said head and buck means being mounted for movement with respect to one another, heating means operatively associated with one of said head and buck means, drive means for moving at least one of said head and buck. means toward and away from the other of said head and buck means, control means for operating said drive means, a vertical spindle operatively connected. to said drive means and adapted to move axially in a vertical direction, a pair of spaced brackets mounted axially on said spindle, compressible resilient means confined between said brackets, said brackets being movable relative to one another and operatively associated with said control means so that when the buck means comes into operative contact with the head means the vertical movement of the buck means is deactivated, and locking means for holding said head and buck means in operative ironing position with respect to one another.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking means includes a locking member supported by one of said head and buck means and a pivoted lever means supported by the other of said head and buck means.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 including resilient means normally biasing said pivoted lever means toward locked position.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means includes a limit switch means for deactivating said drive means.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including a substantially universal support means upon which at least one of said head and buck means is mounted.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3590502 Dated July 6, 1971 Inventor(s) Wolfgang Hentschel and Hermann Stutzle It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Covering page, Item 73 the assignee should read DORQIER G.m.b.I-l.

Column 1, line 54, "adjust" should read adjusts Column 5, line 5, "enables buck" should read enables the buck Column 5, line 7, "between head" should read between the head Signed and sealed this 28th day of December 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHEZR,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer- Acting Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-969 U 5, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE r I989 O-355 33 

1. Ironing apparatus including head means, buck means cooperating with said head means for receiving material to be ironed therebetween, said head and buck means being mounted for movement with respect to one another, heating means operatively associated with one of said head and buck means, drive means for moving at least one of said head and buck means toward and away from the other of said head and buck means, control means for operating said drive means, a vertical spindle operatively connected to said drive means and adapted to move axially in a vertical direction, a pair of spaced brackets mounted axially on said spindle, compressible resilient means confined between said brackets, said brackets being movable relative to one another and operatively associated with said control means so that when the buck means comes into opeRative contact with the head means the vertical movement of the buck means is deactivated, and locking means for holding said head and buck means in operative ironing position with respect to one another.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said locking means includes a locking member supported by one of said head and buck means and a pivoted lever means supported by the other of said head and buck means.
 3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 including resilient means normally biasing said pivoted lever means toward locked position.
 4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said control means includes a limit switch means for deactivating said drive means.
 5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including a substantially universal support means upon which at least one of said head and buck means is mounted. 